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The theme of the south panel is "Agriculture in Florida."
The dynamic composition and heroic figures of these sculptures are comparable
to the stylized Art Deco ornamentation on New York City's Rockefeller Center.
Standing 20 feet tall and 6 feet wide, these panels were the creation of sculptor Gaetano Cecere.
The north panel depicts "Commerce and Industry in Florida."
Dedicated in 1952,
the 5-story building that displays these panels was originally
the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank (pictured below). It now
houses the Fire and Rescue Department of the City of Jacksonville.
The building was designed by architect Henry J. Toombs, who rose to national prominence as
the designer of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia.
He designed many of FDR's other buildings at Warm Springs and at the President's home in
Hyde Park, N.Y. in the 1920s and 30s. Toombs' Atlanta architectural firm was still prominent
in the 1960s when he designed the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank and
Atlanta’s Lenox Square Shopping Center .
the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank (pictured below). It now
houses the Fire and Rescue Department of the City of Jacksonville.
The building was designed by architect Henry J. Toombs, who rose to national prominence as
the designer of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia.
He designed many of FDR's other buildings at Warm Springs and at the President's home in
Hyde Park, N.Y. in the 1920s and 30s. Toombs' Atlanta architectural firm was still prominent
in the 1960s when he designed the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank and
Atlanta’s Lenox Square Shopping Center .
Cecere's sculptured panels frame the doorway of the former
Federal Reserve Bank Building at 515 Julia Street.
Born in New York
City in 1894, Gaetano Cecere
studied at the National Academy of Design
and, in the early 1920s, at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. In 1923 Cecere was
selected for membership in the Academy’s Society of Fellows. The following year,
he was admitted to the prestigious National Sculpture Society. He became a member of the
National Academy of American Artists and a Notable Artists Member of
Audubon Artist Art Society. He was the founder of the Medallic Art Company.
and, in the early 1920s, at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. In 1923 Cecere was
selected for membership in the Academy’s Society of Fellows. The following year,
he was admitted to the prestigious National Sculpture Society. He became a member of the
National Academy of American Artists and a Notable Artists Member of
Audubon Artist Art Society. He was the founder of the Medallic Art Company.
Sculptor Gaetano Cecere, 1894 - 1985.
He joined
the faculty at Mary Washington College in Virginia in 1947,
at which time he was already a highly successful artist with numerous significant public commissions.
At that time his work included 4 large marble panels which still decorate the chamber of the
U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.; a monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln
in front of the War Memorial Building in Milwaukee; a large sculpture celebrating
American Womanhood for the 1939 World’s Fair; and many of the service medals
for the U.S. Armed Services, including the The Distinguished Service Cross,
The Distinguished Service Medal, and The Soldier's Medal.
He retired from teaching in 1964 at the age of 70 and died in 1985 at the age of 91.
at which time he was already a highly successful artist with numerous significant public commissions.
At that time his work included 4 large marble panels which still decorate the chamber of the
U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.; a monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln
in front of the War Memorial Building in Milwaukee; a large sculpture celebrating
American Womanhood for the 1939 World’s Fair; and many of the service medals
for the U.S. Armed Services, including the The Distinguished Service Cross,
The Distinguished Service Medal, and The Soldier's Medal.
He retired from teaching in 1964 at the age of 70 and died in 1985 at the age of 91.
Cecere at work in his studio.
Above, Cecere completeing his towering statue of Lincoln in 1934.
Below, some of the medals he designed for the U.S. Armed Services.
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